November 2017 archive

Yesterday I started writing a short memoir about the bullies I knew in school. Although I started off talking about Susan, my strongest feelings were attached to Dianne, who had more icy drive and directedness than Susan. After I’d posted it I looked up Dianne on FB and there she was. At first I […] Read more…

Part 1. A few years after I left school, I bumped into Susan in a clothing shop. Susan had been in my class for two years then disappeared without warning or explanation. I felt curious but uneasy and angry. Curious about why she had vanished. Curious that her disappearance had not aroused any distinct […] Read more…

During my teens and early twenties, I used to go with my mother to my cousin Linda’s house whenever Linda’s mother, my Auntie Ginger, flew down from Auckland. Ginger paid these visits three or four times a year. Ginger was the head of the family and her visits were an occasion that brought many people […] Read more…

Footsteps in reverse – I recently had to find the documents that say I am who I claim to be. I keep my birth certificate and change of name certificate in my last passport. I THOUGHT they were in my desk drawer but when I scratched through the clutter of interesting postcards, blank labels, antiquated […] Read more…

Welcome

Sydney Smith is a writing mentor, teacher and author of short stories, essays, and The Lost Woman, a memoir of survival. Sydney's latest book The Architecture of Narrative about how to plot and structure fiction is out now.